Insurance - Yearly Policy vs Individual Cruise Coverage

[GeezerCouple]

8 minutes ago, JUST4JENNA said:

What companies have you used through Steve and have you ever had to file a claim? Thanks for the info again 🙂

 

We learned about Steve and TIS here on CC almost 10 years ago, for our first major vacation, loooong overdue!  We felt we were really splurging!

Steve was so patient with all of my "what if this or what if that" questions.

We bought a policy from Travel Insured through him/TIS.

And less than 2 weeks before our planned departure (with 100% penalties for everything, the way we had arranged it back then, being novices, etc.), DH had a medical emergency.

Bottom line... we got 100% of our money back, in cash, about 2 weeks after we finally filed the claim (the medical issues came first, then).  NOT a credit, and no time limit to spend the cash, obviously.

Importantly, during all of the driving to/from medical appointments of various types for several weeks, we often mumbled how glad we were to have that insurance, "So we won't have to pay a *again* to take that trip!"

 

Because that trip was costly (in our minds back then 😉 ), IF we had lost that money, we probably would NOT have taken another "nice" trip again.

But we didn't lose the money, and fortunately we've taken many *very* nice trips since then, many that were more expensive because we were enjoying the traveling so much.

We've had absolutely wonderful trips!

 

And we've had several other claims, including other large claims.  All were through Steve and his associates at TIS, and all with Travel Insured.

NOTE:  Although we strongly recommend TIS without any reservations, we can't speak about whether the specific policy *we* selected for our needs is what would be the best selection for someone else.  That is what Steve et al., can help you determine... what you might need/want covered, and which insurer and policy would be most suitable.

 

Obviously, we'd rather *not* have had all of those unfortunate reasons to need to file travel insurance claims.  But we did, and we did.  So we have more "experience" with the claims process than we wish we had.  However, we have zero complaints with any of the process!

And Steve can help with claims IF help is desired.

 

GC

 

[klfrodo]

Steve works with about 9 companies that he feels comfortable working with. He does work with GeoBlue, however, Washington State doesn't allow them to sell in Washington for some reason.

I usually go with TravelSafe Classic for my travel needs.

Yes, I've had claims. Yes, they were successful. Yes, Steve will help if needed with the claim. Actually he has assisted some people on here who didn't purchase thru him but the people they did buy from refused to help.

[ljones]

You also need to pay attention to the limits in the number of days.  Some plans limit each trip to 45 days, some 90 days per trip.  Also some annual plans cover only a certain Total number of travel days for the year...

[MagnoliaBlossom]

On 4/17/2023 at 4:18 PM, klfrodo said:

Thats one of the reasons why I use a broker such as Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com

 

I have bought our trip insurance from Steve for some time now and recently emailed them about an annual policy and was told they didn’t sell them.   Did I misread that?

[klfrodo]

14 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I have bought our trip insurance from Steve for some time now and recently emailed them about an annual policy and was told they didn’t sell them.   Did I misread that?

Depends on what you mean by an "Annual" policy. If you're looking for an annual comprehensive policy, you may have understood correctly. I don't know. I would follow up with a phone call.

If you mean an annual multi-trip medical policy, then you may have misunderstood. Here is a link to his page for GeoBlue Trekker options.

Geo Blue Trekker Travel Medical Plans « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

[GeezerCouple]

This is but one example of why it is so much better to CALL rather than email.

With a phone call, they could perhaps ask a single question to clarify if what you want is what they can offer, or not.  Or you could ask for more details about exactly what you want.

It's also faster than back and forth emails that might not even get at the best underlying solution.

 

GC

[budcann]

One thing I noticed with the GeoBlue plans is that the maximum medical coverage drops to $100,000 from $1,000,000 at age 70. Is that enough? Wouldn't want to find out the hard way that it wasn't. 

I've been purchasing single trip coverage (from Trip Insurance Store) for less than the total cost of the trip. It seems that the lowest premium is for coverage at $500. I'm more interested in having higher amounts of medical and evacuation coverage than getting reimbursed for the cost of the trip. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

5 minutes ago, budcann said:

One thing I noticed with the GeoBlue plans is that the maximum medical coverage drops to $100,000 from $1,000,000 at age 70. Is that enough? Wouldn't want to find out the hard way that it wasn't. 

I've been purchasing single trip coverage (from Trip Insurance Store) for less than the total cost of the trip. It seems that the lowest premium is for coverage at $500. I'm more interested in having higher amounts of medical and evacuation coverage than getting reimbursed for the cost of the trip. 

Everybody has their own "trigger point" when it comes to insurance.  I have GeoBlue Trekker and am seriously considering MedJet Assist to add serious medical evac options.

[Libra10]

Just tried calling Trip Insurance Store but got no answer on either phone number.  Is this usual??

Any other recommendations for medical only insurance?

Thanks.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Time zone difference?  Could they be at lunch?

[Libra10]

It would be 2:38 central time, late for lunch.  I am concerned because there was no message recording, just cut off.  Not making me feel confident.

Thanks for your response.

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, Libra10 said:

It would be 2:38 central time, late for lunch.  I am concerned because there was no message recording, just cut off.  Not making me feel confident.

Thanks for your response.

Usually there is a way to leave a message, and yes, they are very good about calling back, especially if you make it clear it's not one of those spammy calls!

Send an email and request a call. They should be good about that, too - and have been in our experience.

 

Not sure why there is no way to leave a message.

 

GC

[Libra10]

Thanks.  Will try their email.

[iamtrustworthy]

7 hours ago, Libra10 said:

It would be 2:38 central time, late for lunch.  I am concerned because there was no message recording, just cut off.  Not making me feel confident.

Thanks for your response.

Hi Libra10,

 

What phone number did you call? We didn't receive any calls between 2:30 pm Central time and 2:49 pm Central time.

 

Steve Dasseos

[Libra10]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for checking.  I called the two numbers at the top of your web page:  888-407-3854 or 816-282-6858.  Just rang and then disconnected.  Is there a better number or an email to use?

[iamtrustworthy]

54 minutes ago, Libra10 said:

Hi Steve,

Thanks for checking.  I called the two numbers at the top of your web page:  888-407-3854 or 816-282-6858.  Just rang and then disconnected.  Is there a better number or an email to use?

Hi Libra10,

 

Those are the right numbers. I don't know why we didn't receive your calls, but it would explain why you couldn't reach us.

You may also also use this form:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/travel-insurance-email-contact-form/

 

Steve Dasseos

Edited May 4, 2023 by iamtrustworthy
typo

[Libra10]

OK, sent the form. Hope to hear from you soon.  Thank you.

[jules815]

On 4/17/2023 at 4:18 PM, klfrodo said:

Thats one of the reasons why I use a broker such as Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com

 

This is exactly the name of the company I came here looking for.  

 

Goal today: Purchase travel insurance for our 2 upcoming trips.

[tj_shopper]

I have used Steve at TripInsuranceStore for many years and have referred all my friends.  You don't think you need insurance, until you do lol.  We've had great experience with Steve and his team.

 

Most recently, we had to file a claim with IMG - iTravelInsured for a delayed trip.  It took about two weeks to receive my reimbursement; however, the analyst who completed my claim did a very poor job.  I had to resubmit my claim and contest the amount I was reimbursed.  Luckily, they reviewed my case and a few weeks later, I received the rest of my reimbursement.  So long story short, I received my reimbursement but it certainly wasn't a one and done.  IMG's website and claim process was very confusing too.  I will purchase from Steve again for sure but will probably try another insurance company and shy away from IMG.  I was just not impressed.

 

We are traveling more these days and am considering the annual insurance but after reading here, I don't think it would work for us.

[IslandThyme]

I will call Steve, and have purchased insurance through him several times in the past, but in the meantime I'm curious - does anyone here have experience insuring a world cruise, which is long (155 days) and expensive ($$$$)?

[Peteymil]

On 4/17/2023 at 6:05 PM, klfrodo said:

Steve works with about 9 companies that he feels comfortable working with. He does work with GeoBlue, however, Washington State doesn't allow them to sell in Washington for some reason.

I usually go with TravelSafe Classic for my travel needs.

Yes, I've had claims. Yes, they were successful. Yes, Steve will help if needed with the claim. Actually he has assisted some people on here who didn't purchase thru him but the people they did buy from refused to help.

He does not have an annual plan, I wonder why he is not comfortable with Allianz, so many people are very pleased with it.